[Avodah] Did RSRH Write LH about Shimon and Levi

[Yitzchok Levine]

There have been times when people have criticized 
me for sending out messages that contain negative 
information about people.  The accusation is that 
what I sent out is Loshon Harah, and I am not 
allowed to disseminate such information.  They 
claim that even if the information is widely 
known and has appeared in the media,  one is not 
allowed to distribute it further. In light of 
this, I present the commentary of RSRH on what 
Shimon and Levi did as it appears in the new 
translation of his commentary to Bereshis 34: 25 - 31.

Let me make it clear that I am in no way putting 
myself in the same category as RSRH. I am simply 
looking for comments on this issue.

YL

25 It was on the third day, when they were in 
pain, that two sons of Ya’akov, Shimon and Levi, 
Dinah’s brothers, each took his
sword, and they came upon the city, which was 
resting trustfully, and killed every male.

26 They put Chamor and Shechem, his son, to death 
by the sword, and took Dinah out of Shechem’s house and left.

27 Ya’akov’s sons came upon the slain and 
plundered the city, because they had defiled their sister.

28 They took their sheep, their cattle, and their 
donkeys — those that were in the city and those that were in the field.

29 They also plundered all their wealth and they 
carried off into captivity their children and women, and everything that was
in the houses.

30 Ya’akov then said to Shimon and Levi: You have 
brought me trouble to discredit me among the inhabitants of the land, the
Kena’ani and the Perizzi. I am only few in 
number, and they will unite against me and smite 
me, and [then] I and my household
will be destroyed.

31 They said: Shall he, then, treat our sister like a harlot?

25–31 Here begins the part deserving of censure, and we do not need to cover
it up. Had they killed only Shechem and Chamor, the brothers would
certainly have been in the right. But they did not spare the unarmed,
defenseless men who were at their mercy. What is more, they looted
the city. They made all the inhabitants of the place pay for a crime
committed by their master. There was no justification for this. Hence,
Ya’akov berates them: “You have brought me trouble by your actions.
Our reputation, our honor, were as clear as crystal, but now you have
sullied them, you have made me odious even among the Canaanites
and the Perizzites. In addition to doing wrong, you also acted imprudently,
for we are so few in number . . .”

Their one reply, ha k'zonah reveals their whole motive. The lord of
the manor would never have taken such liberties if the maiden in question
had not been a foreign, friendless Jewish girl. This thought makes
Shimon and Levi realize that there are times when even the family of
Ya’akov must take up the sword in defense of purity and honor. As long
as men on earth will respect the rights of only those who have the
power, Ya’akov will have to know how to wield the sword. Ya’akov’s
sons did not want to act prudently. They wanted to make others fear
them, so that no one would ever dare do such a thing to them again.
Ya’akov’s daughters are not to be left vulnerable, at the mercy of others.

Nevertheless, by killing innocent people for a crime committed by
the high and mighty, Ya’akov’s sons went too far. [My emphasis]

It is interesting that the account of this incident immediately follows
the account of the meeting between Ya’akov and Esav. There, we saw a
flash of kol Ya'akov, an awakening of humane emotion in Esav’s heart, and
we recognized in this the first spark of humaneness that someday will
develop fully even in Esav. Here, we briefly see the sword of Esav in
the hands of the sons of Ya’akov. From this we learn, for the clarification
of Jewish history, the following truth:

If, in the course of time, we have become a people that is revolted
by the shedding of blood; if we have become the gentlest, the most
merciful of nations, this does not mean that we are weak or cowardly.
The final days of our existence as a Jewish state demonstrated our courage
and fighting spirit, such that the strongest of Esav’s legions had to
be summoned to fight us. We, too, can wield the sword; we, too, are
capable of being bloodthirsty. Our gentleness and humaneness are products
of the education that God has given us through our history and
through His Torah.

It is only the methods and the proportions of their action that made
Shimon and Levi deserving of censure. The motive that catalyzed
Shimon and Levi, and the purpose they sought to achieve, were holy
and justified. The spirit that moved them was indispensable for a family
that matured into a nation as “Ya’akov,” which had to endure all forms
of hardship and humiliation, and yet was called upon to stand tall and
persevere by resilience of spirit and nobility of mind in an eternal,
unparalleled march through the ages.

We will see the aged father even on his deathbed cursing the excessive
violence employed by his sons, but at the same time blessing the motive
and the spirit which inspired their action. We will see the position he
assigned to Shimon and Levi within Ya’akov-Yisrael, a position of powerlessness
and dispersion, so that the sword in their hands would never
again break all bounds of moderation. However, their strong spirit, ever
mindful of Israel’s moral and spiritual dignity and destiny, was to remain
alive and active as a reviving, sustaining, and saving force in all spheres
of the nation (see Commentary below, 49:7). The same sword that Levi
wielded here against a foe from without to save his sister’s honor will
later be ruthlessly turned by the Levi’im against their own brethren, to
raise them from the depths of their moral corruption, to raise and save
without restraint or discrimination:v'es achiv lo hakir v'es banov lo yadah
(Devarim 33:9).

These traits, as revealed in this incident and as will be revealed in
future incidents, can, in the final analysis, explain why it was necessary
to refine and purify this race of men in the “iron crucible” of suffering,
to qualify them as the chosen models to be emulated by all mankind
for its salvation. Not because we are a tractable nation, but precisely
because we are a stubborn and unyielding nation — az she'bumos, as our
Sages put it (see Beitzah 25b) — did God choose us as His instrument,
forging us into the toughest, most enduring steel so that, by winning
us over to His Will, He might demonstrate the wondrous power of His
providence and the wondrous power of His Torah.


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